Taiwan reports continued Chinese military activity around its territory
Taiwan's Defence Ministry reports Chinese military activity near its territory. Four Chinese aircraft and ten naval vessels were observed. The aircraft crossed the median line into Taiwan's air defence zone. This activity follows similar incursions reported on Sunday. These actions highlight ongoing tensions between Taiwan and China. Taiwan monitors the situation and responds accordingly to ensure national security.
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Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
China rolls out $500 child subsidies to boost birth rate: But is it enough
China has announced a nationwide annual childcare subsidy of 3,600 yuan (approximately ₹43,000 or $500) per child under the age of three, Chinese state-media Xinhua reported on Monday. This is a significant step towards the country's efforts in reversing the plunging birth rate and ageing population crisis. The initiative, retroactive from January 1, 2025, marks Beijing's most comprehensive pro-birth move yet — but will this amount, though welcome, be sufficient to reverse deep-rooted demographic trends? What's happening with China's population? China recorded its lowest-ever birth rate in 2023, with just 6.39 births per 1,000 people. Although 2024 saw a modest rebound of 520,000 additional births, analysts widely attribute this to a temporary post-Covid-19 recovery. Moreover, 2024 was the year of the Dragon according to Chinese zodiac signs. Children born during this year are believed to possess unique personality traits and are associated with good fortune, which could explain the rare uptick in birth rates. However, the overall population still shrank by two million, its steepest decline since 1961, officially ceding the title of most populous country to India. This is no small concern. By 2035, China is projected to have 400 million citizens over the age of 60—nearly one-third of its total population—raising red flags over future labour shortages, pension sustainability, and economic stagnation. China's one-child policy China's one-child policy, in place from 1980 to 2015, has also left a cultural imprint that will be difficult to erase. The country has been actively reversing the policy, allowing two children from 2016 and three from 2021. While these efforts are slowly being realised, they are not keeping up with the population decline. New subsidy to aid 20 million The new subsidy, which will not be taxed or counted against other welfare benefits, is expected to benefit over 20 million families annually, Xinhua reported. It follows years of local pilot schemes offering more generous incentives, such as Hohhot's 10,000-yuan annual grants per child and Shenyang's monthly payments of 500 yuan for third children. While these schemes have shown some encouraging signs— Tianmen city, for instance, recorded a 17 per cent spike in newborns in 2024 —experts warn against overstating the impact of cash handouts alone. Professor Mao Zhuoyan of Capital University of Economics and Business told Xinhua that while subsidies are helpful in easing day-to-day expenses like formula or diapers, they are not a 'cure-all' to the full cost of raising a child in China. Cost of parenthood in China According to a 2024 report by the YuWa Population Research Institute, the average cost of raising a child from birth to college graduation in China now stands at 680,000 yuan (about ₹82 lakh or $94,557). Even raising a child to the age of 17 costs over 538,000 yuan, placing China among the most expensive countries in the world to have children. Compare this with average annual urban salaries of 125,100 yuan in affluent provinces like Jiangsu and just 58,100 yuan in hospitality sectors—according to Statista, based on annual salaries drawn in 2023—and it becomes evident why many young Chinese are reluctant to start families. Parenthood crisis: What's really deterring China's youth? Beyond finances, broader cultural and societal shifts are at play. Many young people, especially women, cite career pressures, lack of childcare support, and unaffordable housing as key deterrents to parenthood, a report by Think Global Health showed. Delayed marriages, rising infertility, and a longstanding preference for smaller families have further complicated matters. How is the Chinese govt responding to population crisis? In response, Beijing has been introducing a plethora of reforms. Some of these are: Promoting flexible work hours and work-from-home options for parents Offering preferential housing for families with multiple children Expanding childcare and preschool infrastructure Providing IVF and fertility treatments under public health insurance Mandating epidural access in large hospitals by 2027 Is the subsidy too little, too late? While the subsidy signals serious intent, experts argue it's far from a silver bullet. Yang Yiyong from the Academy of Macroeconomic Research told Xinhua that China needs affordable education, accessible child and maternity care, workplace protections for mothers, and social support structures. And time is running out. Projections of the United Nations estimate China's population could shrink to 1.3 billion by 2050, and further to 633 million by 2100, losing over 750 million people this century. Are there lessons for India here? As India assumes the role of the world's most populous nation, Beijing's policy evolution holds crucial lessons. India, too, is seeing a fertility slowdown, and the economic and social costs of parenthood are rising rapidly in urban areas. Last month, a LinkedIn post by Bengaluru-based startup founder Meenal Goel went viral, where Goel estimated the cost of raising a child in India to be between ₹38-45 lakh. Other media reports suggest these costs can even go above ₹1 crore, depending on school fees, tuition, college, lifestyle, etc. China's experiment is a sign that reversing a demographic slide is complex and expensive. Moreover, while subsidies may be helpful, a much wider structural transformation is still needed. The bottom line China's 3,600-yuan subsidy is a notable step, but unless backed by deeper social reforms, it may not be enough to convince families that parenthood is affordable or desirable in the modern Chinese economy.
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
To further tech manufacturing, India rethinks China blockade
Nearly half a decade ago, India adopted a 'China-out' strategy of sorts, in response to the border clashes in 2020, introduced an anti-Beijing foreign investment policy, and kept Chinese firms out of critical sectors like telecommunications. Now, however, necessitated by changing geopolitical dynamics, following US President Donald Trump's unprecedented onslaught on global trade, and India's own manufacturing ambitions, New Delhi is undertaking a serious rethink on the existing strategy, and is strongly considering particularly easing China-based entities' entry into the country, with some riders. The most recent sign of the thaw came in the form of a recommendation made by the government think tank Niti Aayog, earlier this month, to ease India's foreign direct investment (FDI) rules, which involves government scrutiny into investments made by Chinese firms. Earlier, the Economic Survey 2023-24 had sprung a surprise by advocating attracting investments from Chinese companies to boost exports. India had earlier put restrictions on investments from China through Press Note 3 in April 2020 to curb potential opportunistic takeovers of Indian companies during the Covid-19 pandemic by making a government approval mandatory for all investments from countries sharing a land border with India, including China. It continued to be in force in the wake of national security concerns due to border tensions after the Galwan clash. Early signs of a thaw There have been some signs that India is slowly, but surely, allowing Chinese companies to partner with Indian entities. Dixon Technologies, which is a major Indian electronics assembly company, received approval from the IT Ministry to set up a joint venture with China-based Longcheer. The new company will focus on manufacturing and supplying a wide range of electronics, including smartphones, tablets, true wireless stereo (TWS) devices, smartwatches, AI-powered PCs, automotive electronics, and healthcare devices. Dixon will hold 74 per cent in the JV, and the remaining 26 per cent will be with Longcheer. 'We can not continue to avoid China. The truth is, they make things which we need for our assembly operations, and if we want to go deeper into the supply chain, our companies have to work with Chinese companies,' a senior government official said. The IT Ministry, earlier this year, notified a Rs 23,000 crore policy for electronic components manufacturing, and it is widely anticipated that Indian firms would partner with Chinese entities to participate in the scheme, given the expertise they have. Recently, India also resumed issuance of tourist visas to Chinese nationals as part of a broader effort to repair bilateral ties. Earlier this month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar travelled to China where he had underlined that 'differences should not become disputes' nor should 'competition ever become conflict' and that while India and China have made good progress in the past nine months towards the normalisation of bilateral relations, they should work to address de-escalation on the border. China out in letter, not in spirit, and some repercussions Of course, while the government managed to keep China out in some sectors like finished smartphones, imports from the country continued, particularly for a number of electronic components, which are crucial for the final assembly process in India, but for which New Delhi has little to no production base. The Indian Express had earlier reported that the financial year 2023-24, India imported electronic components worth over $12 billion from China and $6 billion from Hong Kong, with the two accounting for more than half of total such imports to India – suggesting that the country's growing footprint in electronics manufacturing was not necessarily into reduced reliance on Beijing. In the last five years, electronics imports from China and Hong Kong have far outnumbered imports from other major manufacturing hubs like South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and all ASEAN countries, combined. China, for its own part, and seeing India's growing manufacturing footprint, also imposed restrictions on its companies, making it harder for them to do business with Indian firms. For instance, India's share in US smartphone imports surged to nearly 36 per cent in the first five months of 2025, from about 11 per cent in 2024. China, which continues to dominate the product category, saw its share drop from 82 per cent to 49 per cent over the same period, this paper had reported earlier. China's actions include pulling workers out of India, and making it more difficult for India-based manufacturing companies to obtain capital goods, which are needed for the assembly process. China has also imposed a blockade on several rare earth metals and magnets, and while the prime target of that restriction is the United States, India has found itself caught in the crosshairs. Soumyarendra Barik is Special Correspondent with The Indian Express and reports on the intersection of technology, policy and society. With over five years of newsroom experience, he has reported on issues of gig workers' rights, privacy, India's prevalent digital divide and a range of other policy interventions that impact big tech companies. He once also tailed a food delivery worker for over 12 hours to quantify the amount of money they make, and the pain they go through while doing so. In his free time, he likes to nerd about watches, Formula 1 and football. ... Read More
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman flags lack of AI-user privacy; Deepfakes threaten political security; Nvidia orders H20 chips from TSMC
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman flags lack of AI-user privacy Users who treat ChatGPT as a life coach or therapist, sharing extremely personal thoughts or sensitive questions with the AI chatbot, do not have real privacy protections, according to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The technologist warned during an episode of 'This Past Weekend' podcast with Theo Von that the AI company could be forced to hand over such content as evidence in case of a lawsuit or a legal proceeding. Altman made it clear that he disagreed with this standard and highlighted the need for a user-AI privacy standard similar to the one that exists between a patient and a doctor or a client and a therapist. Such interactions are generally protected by what is known as 'privilege,' meaning it is hard to use them against the individual in court. This is not merely a hypothetical situation for the company and its users worldwide. OpenAI was critical of The New York Times, claiming that as part of a lawsuit against the AI startup, the media company asked the court to force OpenAI to 'retain all user content indefinitely going forward...' Deepfakes threaten political security Employees who work in U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, high-profile business companies in America, or corporate settings are preparing to tackle the surge in realistic deepfakes across media formats that impersonate their leaders and chiefs. This has been done to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as well as Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles. There is a serious risk that lower-level employees targeted by such scams might disclose highly sensitive information, security details, or trade secrets to malicious attackers representing hostile regimes. Deepfakes can also be used to scam users out of their savings, get access to their passwords, or prevent them from exercising their right to vote unimpeded. However, there are tech experts who believe that the solution to identifying AI-generated deepfakes is deploying more AI tools that can process the details of a deepfake that human viewers might miss out on. Efforts are also on to better track North Korean agents who are embedded in the U.S. workforce. Nvidia orders H20 chips from TSMC Sources have claimed that Nvidia ordered 300,000 H20 chipsets from TSMC last week, with the development being related to a strong Chinese demand for the chips that are used in AI development. H20 was developed by Nvidia for the Chinese market and has less computing power than Nvidia's H100 and its new Blackwell series; it was made after U.S. export restrictions hit its other AI chipsets. Nvidia and TSMC have not yet formally commented on the reports. While U.S. legislators are concerned that China's access to the H20 offerings will affect competition between the two countries when it comes to leading AI technology, Nvidia's perspective is that Chinese interest in its chips will prevent developers from becoming reliant on products from rivals such as Huawei.
